{"id":47227,"date":"2023-10-20T15:52:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/melbourne-mums-take-out-top-title-in-2012-ausmumpreneur-awards-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:52:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:52:53","slug":"melbourne-mums-take-out-top-title-in-2012-ausmumpreneur-awards-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/melbourne-mums-take-out-top-title-in-2012-ausmumpreneur-awards-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne mums take out top title in 2012 AusMumpreneur Awards – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne-based businesswomen Toni Joel and Nikki Horovitz have taken out the title of 2012 AusMumpreneur of the Year for their lifestyle brand Tonic, which took them 20 years to build.<\/p>\n

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The AusMumpreneur Awards, launched by online community Connect2mums, recognise the achievements of Australian mumpreneurs. This year, the awards attracted more than 200 entries.<\/p>\n

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The winners were announced at an AusMumpreneurs conference on the weekend. Melbourne mumpreneurs Toni Joel and Nikki Horovitz were named the 2012 AusMumpreneur of the Year.<\/p>\n

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Joel and Horovitz are the creators of Tonic, a range of Australian-made home accessories, candles, fragrances, soaps, hand balms and fabric gifts.<\/p>\n

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Tonic was born out of a desire to turn everyday items into \u201cmagnificent essentials\u201d. Since 1992, the range has been sold in major department stores and boutiques in Australia and overseas.<\/p>\n

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Joel and Horovitz said they were thrilled to accept the award, but it didn\u2019t come without plenty of hard work.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter 20 years of building Tonic, and loving every minute of it, this is just the icing on the cake,\u201d Horovitz said at the event.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s quite humbling given the quality of the finalists\u2026 I\u2019d like to thank Connect2mums for recognising the important role that women and mothers play in our business community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Katrina McCarter took out the 2012 title of Best Customer Service for her business Bubbler Deals, which offers deals on kids\u2019 products, family activities, and pampering for mums.<\/p>\n

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Bubbler Deals began in WA but is now nationwide. With every deal sold, a 5% donation is made to the customer\u2019s nominated primary school, playgroup or kindergarten.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe voting process allowed my customers to give me some feedback about how we\u2019re going, so it was a really wonderful affirmation that we\u2019re on the right track,” Katrina said in a statement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have just launched nationally, and actually winning the award gives me a great sense of confidence that I\u2019m doing the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Peace Mitchell, who foundedConnect2mums with Katy Garner, said she was inspired by the \u201cincredibly generous and supportive\u201d nature of the mumpreneurs who attended the conference.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey are wonderful role models for their children and other mums out there thinking about starting their own business,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

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The other award winners for 2012 are as follows:<\/p>\n